Troutdale City Council candidates separated by just 4 votes; a recount likely

John Wilson and Zach Hudson, candidates for Troutdale's Position 6 race, are separated by just four votes, according to Multnomah County Elections results updated at 4:50 p.m. yesterday.

Wilson leads with 1,897 votes to Hudson's 1,893, in their bid to replace Doug Daoust on Troutdale City Council. Daoust won the mayoral race, beating incumbent Jim Kight with 70 percent of the vote.

A third candidate, Tom Slyter, has 866 votes, according to returns.

Zach Hudson

Multnomah County Elections will automatically recount results if the margin of victory is within 0.2 percentage points; currently the margin between Wilson and Hudson is 0.09 percentage point. The recount process begins after the elections division certifies Nov. 6 election results, making them official, said Eric Sample, program communications officials with the division. The certification deadline is Nov. 26.

The winner will take office in January, and will face budget cuts, economic development hurdles, and possibly union negotiations.

In Fairview's tight race, Ken Quinby is maintaining a lead over Barbara Jones, a fellow incumbent who he left his Position 3 seat to challenge. Currently Quinby is 0.67 percentage points ahead of Jones, with 49.83 percent to her 49.16 percent. Write-in candidates stole 1.01 percent of the vote.

Jones said last week she is waiting for official results before she decides whether to ask for a recount. Quinby has not returned calls or e-mails from The Oregonian.